Seagulls over a High Sun
by Ehmber
Summary: The Cullen family moves to Tennessee when Carlisle gets transferred to Middle Tennessee Medical Center. EdwardOC, JasperOC. ON HIATUS - REAL LIFE INTERFERING WITH WRITING TIME!
1. Tour Guides

It was the first day of classes at Siegel High School. It was a muggy day in late August, and Stephanie and Jessie Hammon were in foul moods.

"Why does it have to be so hot?" Stephanie complained raking a hand through her short black hair as she and Jessie trudged toward the gym.

Jessie muttered a reply.

Suddenly, Coach Shelton stopped them. "Mr. Nolan would like to see you girls in his office." He said briskly.

Jessie and Stephanie exchanged nervous looks and headed in the other direction toward the pricipal's office.

"What could he want us for? We can't possibly be in trouble."

Jessie grinned at her. "With you it's entirely possible."

Stephanie laughed shoving her sister playfully.

Mr. Nolan was waiting for them outside his office. "Ah, there you are girls. We have a couple of new students here from Washington. I was hoping you'd show them around?"

He stepped aside. Both girls gasped.

Jessie turned to her sister "Are we in heaven?" She asked.

"Remember how you never got me a birthday gift? You can give me the hottie. And, I'm pretty sure we are..." Stephanie told her sister as they introduced themselves."Hi. I'm Stephanie Hammon, and this is my twin sister, Jessie."

The two young men standing before them would have been better classified as angels.

Both were tall, thin, and had flawless snow-white skin. Their eyes were black as coal and sent shivers down the girl's spines.

The young man with auburn hair stepped forward. "I'm Edward Cullen." He whispered softly, taking each girl's hand. Stephanie gasped, pulling her hand roughly out of Edward's grasp. It was so cold! She watched Jessie's reaction as a small blush was aroused in his sister's cheeks. The matchmaking wheels began to turn in Stephanie's head.

The other young man stepped forward laughing softly. He offered his hand to Stephanie. "I'm Jasper Hale." He said softly. Stephanie took it cautiously. As she did, something even stranger happened. Her foul mood dissipated instantly, replaced by a surreal happiness. Stephanie took a moment to look at Jasper. There was something very different about him. Edward was hard and intimidating, Jasper soft and gentle. While Edward wore a tight white muscle shirt and tight fitting black jeans, Jasper opted for a light tan suede jacket and a pair of light wash jeans, though they fit just as tightly.

"Um, would you excuse us for a moment?" Jessie asked the brothers, as she pulled her sister slightly out of earshot."Which hottie do you mean?"

"Jasper...I think."She replied, still barely able to form coherent sentences.

"OK.You can have him as long as you don't want Edward. He's MINE!"She happily turned back to the boys, not knowing they heard every word." Would you like the tour, now, or do you want some time to get adjusted before we take you around campus? I know this place is a little overwhelming at first..."

"I think we will have the tour in a couple of minutes." Edward softly said, with a slight smile."After your sister stops staring at my brother..." Jessie and Edward glanced over at Stephanie and stifled laughter, as they noticed she was practically drooling over Jasper.

"I think you broke her." Jessie tole Jasper with a slightly accusatory look, but all could see the humor in her eyes."Um, Steph, you need a napkin?" Jessie asked her twin, knocking her out of her fantasy.

"I'm fine. Shall we get on with the tour?" Stephanie took Jasper's Hand and led him out of the office to show him around.

"Shall we follow?" Edward offered his arm to Jessie with a grand bow, who took it with a slight blush on her face." We shall."


	2. The Tour

**Author's Notes:**Here is the latest installment of Seagulls over a High Sun, Part 1 of the tour.I originally wanted to call it Siegels over a High Sun, but my sister was worried that no one would get it...

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Twilight, or Siegel High School.I only own the plot line, and not even the entirety of that belongs to me.

* * *

The tour was fun, educational, and also painful at the same time. Why was it painful, you may ask. Well, let me start at the beginning.

"Shall we follow?" Edward offered his arm to Jessie with a grand bow, who took it with a slight blush on her face." We shall." They met up with Jasper and Stephanie outside of the lobby and decided to split up, and when they met back up in the lobby again, they would tour upstairs as a group. Jasper and Stephanie went left going slow for Stephanie's sake, as Edward and Jessie went right.

* * *

Edward and Jessie decided to start with the Guidance area and Vocational Hall. "Down this way, we have the Guidance office, right over there. The Vocational Hall, Culinary Arts, Early Childhood Development,and that group is right there, with the Cafeteria through here. If you wind up getting the same lunch as me, I usually wind up sitting out in the Courtyard, weather permitting, of course, but if I'm not in the courtyard, I'm usually about halfway down the Band Hall, which is right through these doors. The Band Room is right there, and the Choir Room is at the end of the hall, across from the Auxiallary Gym, which is mostly used by the JROTC students once a week during inspection.The ROTC Room/ Gym Locker Rooms are down this hall."She added, pointing to the set of double doors next to the Aux. Gym.

As she was talking, Jessie was pointing out everything she was naming. "Going over this way, we have the Main Gym, mostly used for the two Wellness classes. Around this corner, we have the Drama/Stagecraft room, Mrs. Seage and Coach Salty's room. Then we have the Art classrooms, and the English/ Foreign Language hall right there. We end the tour of the bottom floor with the library, which has to be my favorite place in the entire school. If you can't find me in the courtyard of Band Hall during Lunch, I'm probably hiding out in the Library. Let's wait on Steph and Jasper before we go upstairs. We will need to use the elevator." she finally released Edward's hand as she sat down on the floor next to the elevator and motioned him to do the same as she waited for the other two to arrive."What does your schedule look like?" She asked him as they sat down next to the elevator.He pulled it out and handed it to her."this is the same as mine and Steph's. Welcome to our classes. We are pretty much teacher's pets, because we get our work done in the first half of class."

* * *

Jasper and Stephanie wound up starting with the Library. "Here, we have the Library, which is probably my favorite place in the school. I usually wind up seeking shelter in here before school or during lunch, when I have nowhere else to be. Following this path, we have the English/ Foreign language hall, with the Art classes over here. On the other side of the canopy, we have the Drama-slash-Stagecraft room, with Mrs. Seage teaching Drama, and Coach Salty teaching Stagecraft. Going on across from it, we have the Main Gym, used by the Wellness teachers, and the locker rooms/ ROTC Room separating it from the Auxiallary Gym, which the ROTC students use for their inspection and PT Day. Over here, we have the Choir Room, and the Band Hall, with the Band Room right here. The cafeteria is right here, with the Vocational Hall (Culinary Arts, Early Childhood Development, and those kinds of classes) on this side of it. The Guidance offices are over here, and this brings us around full circle from where we started."they arrived back at the elevator in time to see Jessie and Edward laughing so hard they had tears running down their faces at a story she (Jessie) had just finished telling."What's so funny?"Steph asked. "I was just telling Edward about the time you watched The Grudge and couldn't sleep at all that night, and yet, when I watched it, I fell asleep half way through it, and only got up three hours later because you woke me up for dinner. Remember?"

"Yes, _sadly_, I do."She answered dryly. " Ready to go upstairs?" Stephanie directed this question to all three people standing around her.

"Yuppers." Jessie answered."Edward? Jasper?" Getting an affirmative from them, she took Edwards offered hand and allowed him to help her up (not noticing as the blush returned, and not letting go of his hand when she was standing) and pushed the up button next to the elevator."Onward, my lovelies!" Jessie said as the elevator arrived and they crowded in, not noticing that Jessie was nestled against Edward and Steph was squished against Jasper.

"Well, pick a direction. Left or right?"Jessie said, when the elevator doors opened and they stepped out.

"What time is it?" Steph suddenly asked.Jess looked at her watch and said that it was 9:15.

"What's up?" Jess asked at Steph's suddenly pained look. She followed her sister's gaze and suddenly growled to herself."Lickteig." the Senior was starting to get on her nerves."What do you want, Lickteig?"

"I just want to see if your sister has started missing me yet."Eric Lickteig had a cruel smirk on his face that caused Steph to dart off to the nearest restroom with her head down to hide the tears._I will NOT let him see me cry,_ she kept repeating over and over in her head as she left.

Before Jessie could reply, Jasper stepped in."Why would my _girlfriend_ be missing you? She _obviously _has someone better." Jasper looked Lickteig up and down with a contemptuous look."You are just a waste of her time."

"Why can't you just leave us alone? Do you even know how much pain you are causing my sister?"Jessie yelled, before running to find her sister."Edward, Jasper, we will finish the tour later.I have a sister to comfort."As she rounded the corner,she could just barely hear the sounds of Edward and Jasper punching Eric.

* * *

"Guys, we will finish the tour later.I have a sister to comfort. As Jessie jogged around the corner, Jasper threw the first punch.Eric couldn't block in time, resulting in a black eye. Edward lashed out with a finch to the other eye followed swiftly with a kick to the chest.They each took turns attacking, without giving Eric a chance to defend himself. Finally, after thirty minutes, two black eyes, a broken nose, a split lip, and assorted other cuts, broken bones, and bruises that are too numerous to tell, they stopped. With another contemptous nod, they turned away in unison and walked off in the direction Jessie and Stephanie took.

They found Steph and Jess sitting outside the bathrooms in the Science hall, with Jessie hugging Steph as she cried on her shoulder.

"Is she going to be alright?"Jasper asked soflty while Edward stood back and watched, not sure what to do.

"She will be fine. What did you do to Lickteig? I thought I heard someone throw a punch..."She helped her sister up as Jasper wrapper Steph in a hug, while Edward pulled her up and told what they did to Eric. When the story was told, she was laughing her head off."Remind me to thank you later. For now, we need to see Mrs. Wilson." As they escorted Steph back to the elevator, Jasper told her what they had done to Eric, causing Stephanie to burst out laughing."Thank you very much for that...I wish I was there."


	3. Dating, what's that?

**AN :** Steph got the chapter to me sooner than I thought.For those of you who didn't get the Alternate title joke, it was a play on words. Steph and I go to Siegel High School (pronounced seagull High School)

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Twilight, would I really be making these?**  
**

* * *

As the laughter died away, Stephanie suddenly panicked. "Oh my God! What are we going to do? We're all going to be expelled!" The color had completely drained from her face and she was sweating profusely. Two cool hands pressed gently into her shoulders, as a strange sense of calm spread over her, smothering her other emotions. Jasper's voice was soothing. "You let us handle this." 

Stephanie nodded numbly as he and Edward left the elevator for the office. "Jessie, we need to talk." She said leading her sister into the deserted courtyard. They sat on one of then bright blue benches awkwardly.

"Spill." Jessie demanded.

"How do I tell Jasper I'm not interested?" Stephanie asked awkwardly.

"You certainly seem interested!" her sister said accusingly, "What's _really_ going on? This isn't about Eric is it? Because if it is, I'm going to kill you!"

"Only partially." Stephanie mumbled. "My schedule won't allow for a boyfriend. This is junior year, Jessie, the last real impression we have to give colleges when we apply! I need to concentrate! I can't have some _REALLY HOT_ guy mess this up!"

Stephanie hands tremble as she clutched her schedule. Jessie grabbed it from her and read it her eyes growing wider with each line.

"STEPHANIE!" she yelled, "What am I going to do with you!!" she looked at her sister angrily as Stephanie disappeared back into the building.

A devilish smirk crossed her face. "No, my dear sister, that is exactly why you NEED a boyfriend!" she rubbed her hands together and skipped off in the opposite direction in search of Edward

* * *

Edward and Jasper left the office, smiling. Everything had been taken care of. Edward pulled Jasper into an alcove out of sight. "You gonna go for it? I know I am!" he said grinning.

"Go for what?" Jasper asked confused.

"Stephanie really seemed to like you!" Edward said, his eyes sparkling.

"She seems heartbroken, though. I don't want to take advantage of her."

"All the more reason for you to go for it, my brother! She seems in desperate need of someone to love her.'

Jasper seemed unconvinced, but then they heard sobbing coming for the vacant library nearby.

They entered cautiously, and wandered the shelves looking for the source.

"Oh my god!" Jasper exclaimed. Stephanie lay on her knees before him; her cane sprawled nearby, bright red scratch marks covering her arms. Luckily none of the marks were deep enough to bleed. He crouched beside her and tilted her head so that she looked at him. Her greens eyes were dull and scared.

"Who did this to you?' he asked her gently.

"I did."

* * *

**AN(2):** cliffie, anyone? 


	4. Ohh, I see

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Twilight, or Siegel High School. I only own the plot line, and not even the entirety of that belongs to me.

_Recap:__Stephanie lay on her knees before him; her cane sprawled nearby, bright red scratch marks covering her arms. Luckily none of the marks were deep enough to bleed. He crouched beside her and tilted her head so that she looked at him. Her greens eyes were dull and scared. _

"_Who did this to you?' he asked her gently._

"_I did."_

* * *

"Why? Hang on. Edward, find Jessie, get her down to the Guidance office. I will meet you there, after I get Steph up."Jasper's gentle voice suddenly turned to a commander's voice, but his eyes were gentle as he never looked away from Stephanie.

"Got it!"Edward took off running out of the library as Jasper knelt next to Strphanie with her cane in his hands."Let's get you up."

"I'm not going!"Steph yelled, frustrated from the incident with Eric.

"Why won't you let us help you?" Jasper shouted angrily at Stephanie.

"I don't need your help!" Stephanie shouted back, her emerald eyes blazing.

"Yes, you do! This," Jasper shouted holding up her left arm, the angry red marks still visible, "isn't normal!"

"I'm not going to a shrink!" she shouted back.

Jasper suddenly grew much calmer, "You don't have to." He said. Feeling brave, he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She trembled beneath his touch, gently pushing him away.

"Please, don't!" she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

"Why not?" Jasper asked a nervous edge in his voice

"I'm not worth it."

"Just why do you say that?"The neverous edge went away, and his eyes glinted like he was angry.

"Because I know I will never amount to anything. I will always be second best!I just can't take it!"Steph started to cry again as she realized that due to the fact everyone considered her to be an 'invalid', she would never be able to get a good, well-paying job. Or so she thought.

"Are you alright?"He asked gently as he grasped her under the elbows and picked her up off the floor.

"I should be fine. This happens every time after I run into Eric."Stephanie tried to regain her balance, but couldn't get it in time and fell straight into Jasper's open arms.He wrapped her into a hug for a moment, where she quietly cried on hos shoulder, before pointing out that they needed to get to the Guidance office and wait for Edward and Jessie.

* * *

"Got it!"Edward took off running out of the library and over to the drama area, where he could sense Jessie.She was walking fast, but he was eventually able to catch up with her outside of the ROTC room. "Jessie! We need to get to the Guidance office! Now!" He gasped out, acting like he hasd run all around the school trying o find her and was out of breath.

"What? Why?"a shocked Jessie asked, as they walked to the Guidance office.

"Stephanie. We found her in the library with scratches all over her arms and face. Do you know what happened?"Edward explained as they got to the guidance office and saw Jasper waiting outside.

"Where is she?"Jessie asked quickly when they reached him.

"I don't know. They took her somewhere..."Jasper, always the one to hide his emotions, shocked Edward when he realized he could see tears forming in his brothers eyes.

"Mrs. Pipes,"Jessie suddenly turned to the secretary."Can you tell me where my sister is?"

"Why, yes, Dear. She went to see the nurse to get herself patched up."the kind lady smiled."She said to tell you that she was going to see the nurse and then see her guidance counselor."

"Thank you, very much. Come on guys, I can find her."She jogged around the corner and went to the nurse's office.They boys had just rounded the corner when they saw Jess heading the other direction and stopping at a room."Mrs. Wilson? Is Steph in here?" The boys followed her in when they saw her sitting next to her sister with a worried look.with a silent glance that lasted a second, but seemed to communicate millions of things, Jasper sat on the other side of Stephanie, while Edward stood at Parade Rest behind the three.

As Jasper provided comfort to Stephanie, Edward caught Jessie's eye (not that that was hard to do... - will be explained later) and asked quietly if he could talk to her privately."Steph, I need to talk to Edward. We'll be back in a moment."

"What's up?"Jessie asked curiously as Edward led her out of the guidance office.

"What are we going to do about those two?" he asked her, jerking his thumb back inside the office.

"What do you mean?" Jessie asked her voice coming out in short gasps. She found it hard to breathe when he got this close.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! You can't tell me that you don't see the way they look at each other! Those two are _definitly_ fighting a loosing battle."

"Actually, I've been too busy watching you." Jessie muttered.

Edward cocked an eyebrow. "What did you say?"

"Um… Nothing!" Jessie said fast, turning beet red.

"It certainly didn't seem like nothing!" Edward said teasingly, leaning in toward her, his exotic scent overpowering her, turning her brain to utter goo.

"You...you really don't want to know..."She was barely able to make a coherent sentence.

"And just why is that?"Edward gave her a curious look that made her think one thing: _What was that about coherency?_ Edward, of course, could tell exactly what she was thinking, and was very glad that he usually hid his emotion, so he could control the laughter that was bubbling up inside him.

"Um...uh...Do I really have to answer?"She couldn't even remember what the question was.

"I would appreciate an answer,"(Here, he regained his teasing demeanor)"But, If you are incapable of giving one..."(He feigns a wounded look)"I guess I shall have to ask your sister."

"ALRIGHT!Okay, you win. I'll tell you. I said I was too busy watching you to notice what was going on around me."she was just barely audible to her own ears, not to mention any eavesdroppers.She looked down and closed her eyes and prayed that he couldn't hear what she said as a blush made her face turn to the color of a fully ripened tomato.

"What was that?I couldn't hear your answer."Edward hid a grin, as he knew full well what she said. He just enjoyed teasing her, as he liked her too.He carefully put his hands on her cheeks to make her look at him, as he got ever so slightly closer to her face, keeping eye contact.

"Well, the thing is, I really like you, and said that I was too busy-"any other thoughts were immediately erased as he ever so gently pressed his lips againts hers in a soft kiss as an effort to get her to stop rambling. _-getting kissed by you. _That one thought filled the emptiness in her head as she tried to complete her sentence.

"Jessie."He pulled away, leaving Jessie redder than a ripened tomato."Would you like to go out with me?"

Before she could think, she blurted out one question:"Will it mean more kisses?"If it was possible, she blushed even more.

"Kissing is encouraged between dating couples..."Edward smiled in amusement at her question

Jessie faked a thinking pose."Hmm...Lets do a pros vs. cons mental graph here, before I answer..."She kept faking a thinking pose for the next ten minutes, while her head was saying _YES!_ over and over. Edward, of course could hear that, and was chuckling at her antics.

* * *

**ten minutes later**

"Do you have an answer?"He was barely able to hide his amusement.

"Let me think..."(she tapped her finger against her chin, while staring at the ceiling like she was thinking)"Um...Yes."

"Yes, what? Yes you will go out with me, or yes you have an answer?"

"Yes."She smiled at his lost (clueless) look and sighed, thinking the game had gone on long enough."Does this answer the question?"she leaned foreward and kissed him deeply.

"I take that as a yes."

"DUH!"she took his hand again and led him back into the Guidance office, and almost ran into Steph and Jasper, as they were just leaving.

"Why are you so happy?"Steph asked her curiously.Jessie leaned over and whispered something in her twin's ear, grinning widely the whole time."Really?!"At Jessie's huge nod, Steph hugged her sister while Jasper, his quick mind deducing the reason for all the happiness, congratulated his brother.

* * *

**A/N:** the latest chapter...i think I might have to continue this when school starts back (I hope not, Steph and Jasper would kill me...)...Reviews are appreciated. 


	5. Day's End and Funny Anecdotes

They were all sitting in the library, Jessie sitting in Edward's lap with his arms around her waits, and Steph sitting next to Jasper (who had his arm around her shoulder, providing comfort), talking about the day.

"Hard to believe this was only the first day of school, huh?"Jessie asked no one in particular.

Suddenly, Mr. Nolan's voice came over the intercom. "Thank you everyone for a wonderful first day! I'll see you on Monday."

"Oh CRAP!" Stephanie shouted, leaping out of Jasper's arms. I've got to talk to Mr. Nolan! I may have missed an assignment!"

Edward was suddenly standing before her. "You aren't going anywhere." He growled, gently pushing her backward, so that she fell back into Jasper's lap. His cool arm closed around her waist like a steel trap. "You two need to talk. Jess and I will get our assignments .Jasper, what does your schedule look like?" He pulled it out and they realized it looked exactly like Steph's.

"Well, that makes our job simpler. Steph, we can use my schedule and yours. Edward is in all my classes." With that, they left the library so Jasper and Stephanie could talk.

* * *

Jasper looked at Steph as they left. "What do we need to talk about?" They, of course, being the clueless ones of their families, had no idea what was going on in front of their noses, or in their hearts.

"I have absolutely no idea. Well, what should we talk about?"

"How about what's going on between you and Eric?" Jasper asked casually.

Stephanie laughed bitterly. "We went out for a while, and it was bliss at first. Then he got caught up in a perfect little blond and now just likes to play with my head." Tears filled her eyes and she tried to hold them back desperately. One escaped her eye and began its slow decent down her cheek. Jasper reached up hesitantly to wipe it away. His cold flesh sent a jolt through her as he brought her head to rest on his rock hard chest.

"You don't have to be strong anymore." He whispered to her gently running a hand through her hair.

"What do you mean?" Stephanie whispered back her, face mere inches for his.

Suddenly the library doors opened and Jessie and Edward entered laughing hysterically, causing them to spring apart." We...we have the homework." Jessie was barely able to get out through the laughter. She sat down, stopped laughing, and took a few calming breaths.

"We didn't miss much, just program syllabus' and equipment lists." Edward was able to look like he hadn't laughed at all in five seconds, while Jessie still had a smile playing on her face after a few minutes.

Stephanie didn't hear him, as she was too deep in thought, wondering which story would make them laugh so hard. _I've got it!_ "Let me guess...you were telling Edward about when Mark ran the bike up the tree?"

"Nope. I was telling him about when momma told us about witches when we are younger and we tried to fly on broomsticks (off the roof, of course). I had just gotten to where Mom caught us when she got home from work."

"No, Not that story!" Steph moaned, which only made Edward and Jessie laugh harder.

Jessie looked at her sister, a mischievous grin on her lips. "So, my dear sister, what are we going to do for our birthday?"

Edward whirled on her. "When _is_ your birthday?"

Steph was mouthing "No!" from her corner.

The grin on Jessie's face was positively evil. "Sunday." She said simply.

The bell for the buses rang suddenly, and the group headed out parting ways rather reluctantly.


	6. Birthday Party, Part 1

**Disclaimer**: Do you honestly think I would be posting a Twilight fic here if I owned the copyrights to the Twilight series?

* * *

The Cullen/Hale family insisted on having a birthday party for the twins. Sadly, though, Stephanie was more interested in the newest book she got, instead of the guests or games being played. They will just have to draw her out of that phase...

"I have an idea." Jessie said rubbing her hands together as Edward, Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme gathered around.

Edward laughed softly, "You're a Genius!" He leaned in and kissed her softly.

Emmett coughed loudly. "Ready to put Operation Matchmaker into action?"

Jessie nodded, grinning widely. "Oh, Stephanie!" she called in a singsong voice.

Her twin ignored her, immersed in the latest _Harry Potter_ novel.

"Stephanie!" she called again to no response

"STEPHANIE!!!" Jessie yelled.

Her twin's head jerked up. "What?" She asked clearing annoyed.

"Come here."

Groaning her twin got up, and stalked over to her. "What?"

"We're playing 7 Minutes in Heaven."

"I'm not!" Stephanie said, rolling her eyes, and turning to go back to her book.

"Oh, yes, you are!" said Jessie pulling her twin down onto the couch beside her across from Jasper who was chuckling softly.

"Alright." Said Emmet cheerfully, placing an old bottle on the coffee table, "who's first?"

Jessi grinned. "Stephanie will."

Her twin glared at her as Jessie spun the bottle

"_Please, not Jasper. Please not Jasper!"_Stephanie thought to herself

Inevitably the bottle landed on Jasper, who if Stephanie had bothered to look at, was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

Terror coursed through Stephanie. Jasper walked over to Stephanie gently pulling her to her feet. As soon as they made contact, Stephanie fear evaporated and she allowed Jasper to lead her into the closet and close the door behind them.

At first, they just looked at each other, but Jasper slowly closed the distance between them."You do realize I've never kissed anyone before, right?" Stephanie quietly admitted. He hesitated, warm lips hovering right above her mouth, and Stephanie looked a little hesitant.

Finally, his mouth brushed hers, and the tingle that he had been feeling suddenly burst into what felt like a fireworks display, a cliché he'd never been able to understand until now. But still, he held on tightly to his control, and brushed his lips against hers once more. Steph's eyes drifted shut as he continued his soft kisses, each one lasting one second longer, and longer until--

_Thump!_ They both jumped apart as the door opened to reveal Erin standing there, with Emmet holding Rachael up in the background. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Erin and Rachael (Xuu pronounced Zoo and Saku, respectively) could not contain their smirks when they saw the 'evil-death-glare-of-doom' Stephanie was giving them, because they ruined her moment of bliss. They _would_ have apologized, but teasing her was too much fun. Even Emmet was smirking."Sorry we were late...Saku got us lost on the way here. We were afraid- oh, um, were we interrupting anything?" Erin acted as though she didn't know what was happening, even though her and Saku were fully briefed before they _accidentally_ interrupted Steph and Jasper.

Before they knew what was happening, Xuu and Saku were getting chased around the house be a _**VERY**_ angry Stephanie."Ladies! time for cake and presents!" Esme Cullen's voice rang out through the house, calling Steph, Xuu, and Saku from their chase.

* * *

**AN**:part two will be up soon. 


	7. Birthday Party, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **The only person I own is myself (Jessie Hammon). Stephanie Hammon belongs to Stephanie, and Erin and Rachael belong to themselves.The Cullen/Hale family belongs to Stephanie Meyer, and Siegel High School belongs to- wait.I don't know who Siegel belongs to.

* * *

Stephanie settled down at the Cullen's dining room table, glowering at the others. Her eyes fell upon Jasper, and she looked away quickly, blushing.

Suddenly the lights dimmed, and a smiling Esme strutted toward them, her face illuminated by a hundred candles. "Last time I checked, we were turning seventeen, not two thousand." Jessie remarked sarcastically when she saw the cake. After a slightly -very- painful rendition of _Happy Birthday, _the girls were presented with an enormous birthday cake that took up the length of the table.

"Dig in girls." Said Esme cheerfully.

The Cullen boys quickly cut the cake, placing a large slice in front of each of the girls. The other girls ate eagerly, but Stephanie pushed it away.

Jasper slipped soundlessly into the chair beside her. Cupping her face in his soft, cold hands, he murmured, "What's wrong, Stephanie?" he could feel her fighting the calming waves he was sending into her. She kept her eyes determinedly down, though he could feel her tears falling on his palm, hot as lava. "Look at me." He commanded, his voice as smooth as velvet and as soft as silk.

She looked at him hesitantly, her green eyes blanched by tears. "I'm not worth this." She mumbled, as thoughts of Eric filled her troubled mind.

"You are worth this." He said softly, though his voice was low and dangerous.

Edward cut in "And if I ever hear that name again, I'm going to kill him!"

Jasper claimed her lips with his own, finally quieting her tears, the birthday cake forgotten.

Jessie, deciding to give the pair some private time, engaged Edward in a conversation."Can I help you kill him. He has been treating her like that ever since they broke up in seventh grade."

"Since _seventh grade_? "Edward could barely believe what he was hearing. "Now I see why you want to kill him. You can gladly help."

"How did you know she was talking about Eric? She never said a name." Jessie gave him a very curious look.

"Um...uh, I'm good at guessing things like that?" He gave a try at a helpless look, and failed.

"Nice try. We'll talk about this later. If _some people_ are done making up for the ruined game earlier, I see some presents that I would like to take a closer look at." Jessie raised her voice slightly at the last sentence, causing Jasper and Stephanie to spring apart. "Okay. The first present is...for Stephanie."She passed the present to her twin and grabbed one that looked exactly like it, but with her name on it.

Twelve presents, two huge piles of wrapping paper, and half an hour later, the girls looked at the two piles of books sittng next to them, thinking that they had opened all of their presents. Little did they know, that while they were opening Saku and Xuu's gifts, Edward and Jasper had gone to get two more wrapped gifts from their rooms. They signaled to Erin and Rachael, who covered the twins' eyes, and made them hold out their hands. They each placed a small wrapped box about the size of an earring box in their hands. "Okay," Jasper said. "You can look now.

They ripped off the wrapping paper, opened the boxes, and gasped. "They're beautiful!" Jessie said as she stared at the opal teardrop earrings sitting in the box Edward gave her. She immediately pulled them out, and replaced the gold studs she ad in her ears with them. "Thank you!" She stood up and kissed him deeply, before rushing off to the bathroom to admire her new earrings.

Stephanie, on the other hand, was speechless as she gazed at the emerald teardrop earrings Jasper gave her as a birthday present. She, after Saku waved her hand in front of her face, replaced her peridot studs and gave Jasper a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek." Thank- thank you. I love them."She pulled a hand mirror out of her pocket and admired her gift.

* * *

**AN**: Well, it's done. The party is finally over. The next Chapter will start out with them back at school, only this time, they will actually have classes to attend. As I've said before, reviews are very appreciated. 


	8. Lunchtime Trips

Stephanie dragged her feet reluctantly into Algebra II Monday morning, Jasper following closely behind.

The teacher took attendance and sent it down to the office with Jasper and left the room to talk with another teacher. As soon as they both had left, Stephanie felt a warm body slide into the seat beside her, a familiar cologne drifting toward her, sending a shiver of excitement and revulsion down her spine. "Hello, witch." Eric purred in her ear, running his fingers across her face.

"Go away." She said her voice trembling.

"Not so tough without your new _boyfriend_, are you?" he snarled, continuing to caress her face mockingly. "Don't worry," he said his voice a sneering whisper, "You'll both get what you deserve soon enough.

The color drained from Stephanie's face instantly and breathing became difficult.

Just then, the teacher came back in followed closely by Jasper. "Mr. Liektieg, your seat is next to Miss. Milkin, not Miss Hammon." She said briskly.

Eric got up and moved, smirking at Stephanie from across the room.

"Are you alright, Miss Hammon?" the teacher asked, concerned.

Stephanie said nothing, staring out into space with a wild look of fear in her normally bright green eyes.

"Will someone please take her to the nurse?" the teacher said urgently

"I will, Ma'am." Jasper said, taking Stephanie's limp hand in his own and leading her out of the classroom.

He rushed her to the elevator, his steps becoming more desperate with every backward glance at Stephanie.

Once they were downstairs, Jasper bypassed the office and headed toward the student parking lot, pulling out his cell phone.

* * *

Jessie and Edward had just begun to put together their chocolate cake for Culinary Arts, when Edward's cell phone went off.

"Mr. Cullen we have a policy against cell phones." The teacher said.

"Please, Mrs, Lewis." Said Edward turning the full force of his amber eyes on her, "it's an emergency."

He flipped the phone open. "Yeah." He called, his brow becoming almost instantly furrowed. "What? She's what? We'll be right there." He said snapping the phone shut and grabbing Jessie's free hand in one fluid motion, pulling her out of the classroom. "Sorry, Ma'am." He called over his shoulder. "Family emergency."

The teacher nodded, not quite sure what had just happened.

They found Jasper and Stephanie on one of the benches outside the main buildings. Jessie's small hand flew to her mouth. "What happened?" she asked grabbing Stephanie's free hand

Edward locked eyes with Stephanie gently prodding through her mind. He pulled back in shock and surprise, cursing loudly. Stephanie came to life sputtering and coughing though the fear did not diminish in her eyes.

"What did he do?" Jessie asked knowingly.

"Threatened us, threatened your sister, the usual." Edward said nonchalantly

"It was worse than that." Jessie said placing a hand on her hip.

"That," said Edward laughing, "is for your sister to disclose."

* * *

The cafeteria was buzzing with activity. Stephanie sat alone, chewing her spaghetti thoughtfully. Our favorite villain and his current blonde plaything their mouths intertwined soon occupied the empty seat across from her. 

When they were finished, Eric turned to Stephanie. "Want some?"

Something in Stephanie snapped, and before she truly realized what was happening the remnants of her lunch were all over Eric's dress uniform.

Jessie, who was walking nearby, 'tripped' on her own untied ROTC shoelace, sending her tray flying straight into Eric. She bent down to tie it, not even looking where it had landed until a huge shadow loomed over her.

"You did that on purpose, Hammon!" Eric roared.

"Me?"Jessie put a hand to her chest, feigning shock."I would _never_!!!!! Not to a superior officer, at least..."She looked at her sister, her green-ish gray eyes shining with mischief. "Would I do that? Steph, tell him that I would never do that!" Stephanie, who was too busy crying from laughing so much and clutching her sides, could only nod her agreement."Thank you. Ready to head out?" Steph nodded and they both headed out to the Band Hall to join their friends.

Jessie plopped down on the floor next to Edward and leaned against his chest."Well, that was a waste of a perfectly good $1.75 that I could have spent better." With that comment, both of the Hammon girls burst out laughing again.

When they were finally calmed down, Steph started to critique her sister's performance. "Well, you could have hid your laughter a little bit more, and you shouldn't have had that look in your eyes, I think even Eckerson saw that look..."

"Oh, hush." Jess snagged a fry from Brooke's tray and threw it a her sister, pegging her right between the eyes. "I win!" she crowed happily.Finally, they explained exactly what had transpired a few minutes ago, getting everyone to laugh.


	9. Party Time

It was three weeks later, and Stephanie was on the verge of a mental breakdown. She may have bitten off a bit more than she could chew, with taking two AP classes on top of all of her honors classes.

When they got home that Friday afternoon, Jessie seemed to be in a much better mood than normal.

"What are you up to?" Stephanie asked her sister warily.

"You'll see." Her sister sang happily.

Their parents were not home They were taking their annual getaway. Stephanie entered the bedroom she shared with Jessie and was very surprised to find Edward and Jasper going through their closet.

"What are you two doing here?" She asked as they pulled a third of ballgown out of the closet.

Jasper turned to smile at her. "We're taking you out tonight." He said happily. "That is," he said frowning "if I can find anything for you to wear that even resembles women's clothing." He looked at the ball gowns draped across Jessie's bed stepping toward Stephanie wrapping her into a protective hug placing a kiss on her forehead. "Jessie has pretty things to wear. Why don't you?" He asked softly.

Stephanie stiffened slightly. "I'm far too practical." She said. He laughed softly, bringing her face up to his own. "That is going to have to change my dear. You are far too beautiful to be practical.".

Stephanie blushed. Edward pulled a gorgeous emerald green dress out of a duffel bag at his feet. "Good thing Jessie and I plan ahead." He said, laughing.

Jessie pulled her sister into the bathroom and began a long and torturous process of getting ready for the date.

When they were ready, they waited at the front door for the boys. The boys came silently up behind them slipping something around each of their necks. The girls gasped as they caught sight of beautiful necklaces in the mirror that matched their birthday gifts perfectly.

It was a long and silent car ride to the restaurant, where much to the protest of both Jessie and Stephanie, the boys spent lavish amounts of money on their dinner.

Then they went to one of the local dance places. Stephanie laughed out loud. "If you haven't noticed boys, I'm not exactly the most graceful person. Dancing is not a good idea."

"Come on Steph, it'll be fun." Jessie promised, as she walked with Edward toward the front door.

"Come on, I'll teach you." Said Jasper teasingly as he led her toward the dance floor. He took her waist gently in one arm holding her left hand with the other as they whirled around gracefully to a slow love song. Stephanie was stiff and scared throughout the entire ordeal.

"Please sweetheart." Jasper whispered pleadingly in her ear, "you've got to relax. I've got you I won't let anything happen to you." He said.

Stephanie looked at him tears in her eyes again. "You and Edward have been so sweet, taking care of me and Jessie like this, but I really shouldn't be here. I should be at home, doing homework like I normally do."

Jasper smiled. "This is why we're here." He whispered. "I'm going to teach you how to let go, no matter how long it takes."

A new up-tempo beat started and Jasper began to spin her around more enthusiastically and until even Stephanie was laughing out loud.

Jasper's grin was infectious. "You need to do that more often." He said

"Do what?" Stephanie asked, still laughing

"Laugh." He replied simply, "it's the most beautiful sound I've ever heard."

Edward and Jessie were dancing slowly in the corner, with Jessie's head leaning lightly against Edward's chest.

She looked up and kissed her boyfriend lightly before glancng over at her sister and smiling."I think we're winning."she commented with a soft laugh.


End file.
